Terminator 3 rated C+ by Flipside

Lots of reviews of the movie are available on the net on lots of official and unofficial sites. Good and bad... but
this one hit some of the marks which can't be found in others. We may or may not like what is said... but isn't that
the essence of freedom of speech? See for yourself:

"Ask yourself right now: "What do I want out of Terminator 3?" The answer will have a direct bearing on how much you
enjoy this movie. Those looking for a slam-bang summer adrenaline fix have nothing to fear. Director Jonathan Mostow
has a knack for taut action, and despite advancing age, Arnold Schwarzenegger knows how to deliver on the role that
defined his career. For those anticipating something more, however -- something closer to James Cameron's iconic
predecessors -- the third installment in the Terminator series is a decided letdown. The action lacks the depth or
complexity of Cameron's films, focusing too much on the pyrotechnics while ignoring the subtler elements. Cameron is
a storyteller; Mostow is simply an efficient action director. The difference ultimately makes Terminator 3 the poor
country cousin of the trilogy."

"On the plus side, there are much worse films to spend your time on these days. The basic Terminator scenario makes
terrific popcorn fodder, and Mostow delivers some startling variations on the series' expected set pieces. Schwarzenegger
tops a winning cast, the newcomers of whom make up for some absent faces. Nick Stahl, playing the future savior of
mankind John Connor, has an appealing world-weary quality to him as he anticipates a coming Armageddon. Linda Hamilton
(who played John's mother Sarah) is sorely missed, but Claire Danes fills in admirably as veterinarian Kate Brewster,
a naïve innocent whose hidden strengths emerge (like those of Hamilton's ditzy waitress) when she's shoved into the
maelstrom."

"And the maelstrom packs a respectable wallop. Once again, the machines who rule the post-apocalyptic future have sent
an unstoppable killer back in time to destroy their enemies-to-be. This time, the model is the T-X (Kristanna Loken), a
requisite state-of-the art cyborg who can change form at will and whose chassis hides all kinds of scary surprises. She
has a laundry list of targets, intended to engineer the machines' rise to power by triggering a world war, and Connor
is again a top priority... along with Brewster, his future second in command. As before, a protector is sent back in
time to keep them safe -- another version of Schwarzenegger's ubiquitous T-800 -- only now, the newer models have rendered
him hopelessly obsolete. To make matters worse, Judgement Day is nigh; the events of the second film only postponed the
end, and by the time Arnold arrives, just a few short hours remain before the nascent machines trigger a global holocaust."

"Terminator 3's drama centers on a "now or later" dilemma, which has a lot of potential. Does Connor risk everything to
try and prevent the apocalypse, knowing that if he fails, he won't be around to save the world that's left? Or does he
hide and wait, knowing that fate has decreed ultimate victory over the machines after the nukes have fallen? Play it safe
and sacrifice billions, or go for broke and risk humanity's extinction. It's a juicy conundrum which Mostow unfortunately
treats far too bloodlessly. Instead, we get a lot of things that go boom, which have the same ruthless efficiency as the
Terminators themselves. Admittedly, the film hits its best notes here, with a series of chases and gunfights that Mostow
unloads at a firecracker pace. The topper is a lengthy sequence involving a portable crane careening through LA, with T-X
at the wheel and Arnold hanging precariously from the hook. Mostow's technique is so sharp that we can't help but be
thrilled, despite some questionable effects and a few significant logical gaps. The robots themselves, from Stan Winston
studios, are full of wondrous invention, and the script provides some clever jokes (many at Schwarzenegger's good-humored
expense, though one bears an uncomfortable homophobic tang) that keep the action from becoming too grim."

"As fun as all that is, however, it remains in the realm of the knee-jerk. Terminator 3 brings so much attention to
its special effects that its logic and sense of direction start to falter. The internal continuity -- the Terminator
mythos if you will -- is serviceable, but it skims too quickly over the details, and jibes awkwardly with the events
of the first two films. The impact of the good guys' decisions are ultimately lost, and though the cast gives it their
all, they're never more than supercargo in a mechanical plot. Presumably, that's the idea (this is a film about robots
after all), but the lack of attention leaves the storyline hollow. Cameron, with his obsessive attention to detail,
never would have let things slip the way they do here."

"The T-X herself is the most prominent example. Her gadgets and hardware are really cool -- with arms that can morph
into devastating weapons and joint-popping flexibility that would put yoga masters to shame -- and Loken delivers
the Terminator Skunk Eye™ with the requisite chilliness. But her character lacks
the little touches that made both Schwarzenegger's villainous original and Robert Patrick's follow-up T-1000 so hard to
forget. The script saddles her with too much to do -- besides killing Connor, she has a list of future lieutenants to
slaughter, as well as helping the machines orchestrate their nuclear apocalypse -- which robs her of her predecessors'
terrifying single-mindedness. Furthermore, Terminator 3 relies solely on the fact that she's a woman (and the bells and
whistles of the effects) to establish her character. It's not enough. The most memorable thing about the T-1000 was not
that he was made of liquid metal, but that he impersonated a cop... with all that that implied. The subtlety is lost on
Terminator 3, leaving Loken to fill in the gaps with little more than a catwalk strut."

"Such are the risks involved in a film like this. As a part of a supremely well-regarded franchise, it demands a high
level of quality in every arena, and average efforts just don't cut it. Terminator 3 has what it takes to compete with
the other blockbusters this summer, but its lack of humanity denies it any longevity. The first two films are classics.
The third is just another carnival ride: fun perhaps, but ultimately disposable. Ten years from now, it will probably
be a footnote, a vaguely competent afterthought to an otherwise superior legacy. Enjoy Terminator 3 while it lasts; this
time, I don't think it will be back."